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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23966350">Light and Dark, in Innocence Born</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peanut0257/pseuds/Peanut0257'>Peanut0257</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hollow Knight (Video Games), Ori and the Blind Forest</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Ghost just has a bff now, I have an OC for about two seconds, I have no idea how Ori got here but it doesn’t matter! She’s here and I refuse to puzzle out how!, Self-indulgent crossover YEET, Tags will be updated as more characters are introduced, also starting next chapter Ori will be referred to as female bc that’s how I headcanon, and they deserve the WORLD, basically this fic is Ori just doing everything with Ghost, hollow knight au, honestly he wasn’t even supposed to have a name or a description but whatevs, i should put au in the tags huh?, if you do not vibe with this you may ignore it or simply stop reading, listen Ori and Ghost are Team Baby, oh yeah Ori appeared in Hallownest and immediately wandered out and lost all her memories, uh there may be minor will of the wisps spoilers but idk yet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 16:35:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,304</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23966350</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peanut0257/pseuds/Peanut0257</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Just outside of the kingdom of Hallownest, two different worlds meet curiously. One, a forgotten, abandoned vessel of Void; the other a guardian spirit from the forest of Nibel, a creature of pure light. </p><p>Ghost follows a call of pain and fear, and Ori tags along, following her heart. </p><p>Together, these children of opposite worlds will create a bond that will last a lifetime, and uncover the secrets of a dead kingdom.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>The Knight (Hollow Knight) and Ori</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>78</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Light and Dark, in Innocence Born</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>*dabs* what’s up, peeps? My brain is currently hard-wired to think only Ori and Hollow Knight so I figured mashing the two together would validate my hyperfixations. </p><p>Updates are probably gonna be slow.</p><p>Edit: changed the name to something from Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition, where we see young Naru playing with the spirits Eki and Sol, because I think it fits better. :3c</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>The wanderer didn’t often travel alongside others. They didn’t feel much of a need to, even if their silent nature didn’t already unnerve most other bugs they came across. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Talyn was not so easily spooked. They’d been traveling with him a few weeks, now, and the two had learned to trust the other’s judgements. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t much for conversation, they’d quickly learned, opting to travel in silence rather than socialize. That wasn’t to say he was cold, just quiet. He didn’t deign to give his companion any personal information, nor did he ask them about their own story. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a comfortable partnership. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both kept to themselves for the most part, but if either one of them needed help the other would not hesitate to lend a hand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Talyn was a gray mantis with black markings along his shell. They’d traced them, once, the swirling, intricate patterns. He’d laughed and told them it was a tradition of his tribe, and he bore the markings of a warrior. He was missing half of an antenna, but it would grow back, he assured his little friend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He wielded a long, thin lance that doubled as a ranged weapon in a pinch. He had an assortment of short, light nails that functioned as throwing daggers, and he could hurl them with devastating accuracy. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had met in the depths of the kingdom they currently explored, in a particularly dangerous corner of the land. The wanderer, hearing sounds of battle, had rushed in to Talyn’s aid, fending off the vicious, wild bugs long enough for the mantis to catch his breath and escape to safety. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was not among the most dangerous lands, Talyn had explained when the two adventurers had paused to rest. He had simply been caught off-guard after an unexpected fall, and was quickly overwhelmed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He had bandaged his wounds, picked up his lance, and informed the wanderer of his current travel plans before heading off into the caverns. They had waited a beat before following. He did not invite them, but he did not protest their presence, either, so the two traveled together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Talyn had pointed to a town marked on his map and voiced his concern on their dwindling supplies and a desire to restock. They’d managed to accrue quite a haul of the kingdom’s currency through clearing out bandit clans, but his injuries had been slowly healing, and some had gotten slightly worse, and he needed to see a professional healer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Besides, the wanderer’s old, broken nail may have sufficed for this kingdom, but the unclaimed wilds between kingdoms were harsh and unforgiving, and they would need new equipment to survive. They seemed averse to replacing their things, so he conceded that their belongings must at least be improved as much as possible. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had just finished setting up camp for the night just outside the gates of their destination when the wanderer heard, or, perhaps more more accurately, felt a call from the east. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was faint, and filled with such agony and desperation that the little wanderer began to move before they knew what they were doing. Taking only their nail with them, they got to their feet and headed off, pulled by a force they couldn’t understand. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Talyn shouted after them in surprise. They didn’t look back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were not disappointed to find he didn’t follow them. They hadn’t expected him to. This was their journey, after all, and he had clearly not been called. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They had left all of their money and supplies with him in their haste to respond to the call. That was okay: they didn’t need it. There would always be more supplies wherever they ended up, and they had no use for the money if they traveled to a new kingdom with different currency. Besides, Talyn needed it more if he was going to get stronger equipment and a visit to a healer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They heard him call out one last time- in gratitude, they thought. They paused then, to turn back and nod in confirmation. He waved farewell. They returned the gesture before they nodded once more and took off into the night. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In such a vast world, they doubted they’d ever see him again. They weren’t worried. He was strong, and fast, and cautious. He would survive, they were sure of it. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>They kept up an unforgiving pace, one that even the most enduring of bugs would balk at. Every so often they would stop at a settlement and simply rest there, feeling safety in numbers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They didn’t often pay attention to the passage of time, but they supposed it was after about two weeks of travel when they met the strange bug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Most of the bugs they met on their travels were either hostile thieves or fellow exhausted travelers. Many of them were more than willing to share their campfire after the wanderer fought off wild creatures or bandits. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They’d met bugs of all kinds: flies, pillbugs, beetles, mantises, a few dragonflies, even. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But they had never seen a bug like this one before. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them tilted their heads as they examined each other. The wanderer warily kept their hand near the hilt of their nail but did not draw it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The strange bug tilted its head the other way, and two sets of antennae swished gently through the air, drawing the wanderer’s gaze. Something else swished and they glanced down to see a very agile tail moving about calmly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They did not miss the ready stance this odd creature was in. Clearly, it saw how they stood ready to draw their nail. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, the wanderer remembered their manners and nodded politely to their fellow traveler. Their stance instantly relaxed, their larger antennae twitching occasionally at louder noises. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Curiously, they stepped closer. The stranger’s antennae perked in curiosity as well, and they shifted their weight. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was odd to meet another bug that shared their stature. They were forever dwarfed by others. Granted, that meant they were constantly underestimated, but it was still irritating when they wanted to reach high places and had to be lifted and helped like a grub. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Moving slowly, they reached out in an offer to shake hands. Their new friend extended a hand- and both froze at a loud roar nearby. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The wanderer drew their nail, their back to their fellow traveler, searching wildly for the source. They glanced at their new friend, suddenly realizing the strange bug had no weapons to defend themselves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The odd bug stood stock-still, antennae flicking wildly as the beast stalking them moved around the undergrowth. They strained their own ears but could hear nothing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Suddenly, a massive bug burst out of the gnarly vines and ferns. The wanderer’s little friend whirled, a bright blade appearing in their hand, and masterfully sliced the beast in two. The blade disappeared the second they no longer needed it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They took a few clumsy steps back and collapsed with a thud and a soft squeak. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The wanderer offered a hand up, and they took it gratefully. Once the bug had let go, they rubbed their fingers against their palm in awe. Their new friend was so soft! Emboldened by this discovery, they patted their friend’s head a couple times, reveling at the fluff that covered their body. Their fellow traveler merely closed their eyes and leaned into the touch.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Truly, this bug was a wonderful creature and would make an excellent companion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They gestured in the direction of the call they felt, taking a few steps forward to get the point across, then pointed questioningly between their friend and themselves. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They were excited to see their friend nod and immediately move to their side, antennae twitching and tail smoothly swishing through the air. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Side-by-side, the two small wanderers made their way east. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Yes, I did in fact google to see if a mantis could regrow their antennae. </p><p>Next chapter Ghost’s gonna learn about a little something called “ears”. XD </p><p>Who thinks I should let Ori purr?</p></blockquote></div></div>
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